Fire and Ice
by Dorthey Star
Summary: [complete] Ginny catches Draco being unfaithful, and leaves him. She nearly dies, and Hermione finds out why Draco was unfaithful. Will Ginny listen? Can she forgive him?


"Fire and Ice"

By Dorthey Star 

_"Let the man who has had the fortune_

_to be a helper to his friend,_

_and the man who has won a noble woman,_

_join our chorus of jubilation!_

_Yes, even if he holds but one soul_

_as his own in the world!_

_But let the man who knows nothing of _

_this steal away alone and in sorrow."_

_-from __Ode to Joy_

Ginny Weasley ran down the hall of the large house. She was determined not to let him see her cry. After endless hallways, she finally found where she was looking for. The bathroom. She opened the door and ran into one of the shower stalls. Slowly, with her back against the wall, she sank down to the ground, crying. 

          Three years after she had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ginny Weasley had fallen in love with her older brother's worst enemy. The man was Draco Malfoy. They'd been dating for two and a half years. Now they'd had a fight. Don't get me wrong; they're not one of those couples that never fight because there is no such thing. Ginny and Draco had had their fair share of fights. This one was different. 

          Ginny had come over to Draco's to see him, like she usually did just about every night, when she found him with _her. She found her boyfriend with none other than the Slytherin slut, Blaise Zambini. Blaise was really pretty, probably the prettiest Slytherin Ginny had ever seen- not that that meant much. She had blonde hair to her waist, blue eyes, and perfectly tan skin. Besides the fact that she was a Slytherin and a slut, she was perfect (or as close to perfect as anyone could get). _

          Draco had tried to explain himself, yes, but Ginny just couldn't take it. For weeks now she'd been having suspicions that he was cheating on her. It was always the little things: smelling like perfume she didn't have, having lipstick on his collar in a shade that she didn't own, and even having hickeys on his neck that she didn't give him. Seeing him in bed with Blaise, however, confirmed it. 

          Ginny pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her head in her arms on top of her knees. Her copper curls spilled over her arms, tickling them were the bare skin was showing. She heard footsteps in the hall. He was coming. Ginny stood up and wiped her eyes. She regained her posture and checked her appearance in the mirror. Near the end of Blaise and Ginny's time at Hogwarts, they had been the two prettiest girls in the school. Ginny left the bathroom. Out in the hallway, Draco stood, emotionless, with Blaise who was smirking. 

          "Always had to have what you couldn't get, didn't you?" Ginny sneered. She thought she'd loved him, she thought he'd loved her. 

          "What do you mean, 'what I couldn't get.' Don't leap to conclusions about stuff that you don't know anything about at all," Draco said, glaring at her.

          "I didn't leap. I took a tiny step and there conclusions were," Ginny muttered. She glared at Blaise and turned the opposite way from them and started to walk. 

          "Wait." Draco said. Normally Ginny would have gladly done so, but tonight, she wanted to get far, far away from him. He reached out and put a hand on her arm. Ginny turned to face him, pulling her arm out of his reach. 

          "Don't touch me!" she snarled. Blaise put her hand on Draco's upper arm. 

          "Don't bother with her, darling. She's not worth the fun," Blaise said, speaking to Draco, but keeping a steady eye on Ginny. Blaise planted a kiss on Draco's neck. He didn't react to it, but watched Ginny. She closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten in her head. Then she opened her eyes. She took a step towards the two in front of her. She reached out and slapped Blaise on the cheek, then Draco, before sweeping down the hall and out of the house.  

          Once she was out of the house, Ginny Apparated straight to Hallie's house. Hallie Finnigan (Hallie Morris until she had married Seamus Finnigan) was Ginny's best friend since their first year at Hogwarts. Hallie answered the door on Ginny's second ring at the doorbell. 

          "Ginny! What are you doing here? Seamus and I…oh, God, what happened?" Hallie exclaimed when she saw her tear streaked face. 

          "I'm sorry to interrupt," Ginny said, barely keeping from bursting into tears, "but we…we've had a bit of a fight…and, um…we're…we're not together…"

          "You and Draco broke up?" Hallie asked, her mouth open with shock. Ginny nodded her head. 

          "Aw, screw Malfoy," came Seamus' angry voice from inside. 

          "Hush," Hallie said to her husband. Then she turned to Ginny and added, "Come inside, tell me what happened." Ginny followed Hallie inside. Seamus was sitting at the table. Hallie waved her wand and the food on the table (they been done eating) was cleared away. 

          "I caught him with…Blaise Zambini…that Slytherin slut, you know? I'd long suspecting him of cheating on me, but I didn't think he'd actually be cheating on me…" Ginny mumbled as she sat at the table with a mug of hot chocolate. 

          "Now you see, Ginny, Malfoys- and all Slytherins in general- are scum, not to be messed with," Seamus said. 

          "You would say that. You didn't _know Draco. Nobody did, really. I guess I didn't even know him," Ginny said glumly. _

          "You knew him better than anyone, Ginny, and you know it," Hallie said severely. 

          "Thanks for your ears, Hal, Seamus. I'm going to go home, take a hot bath, and have a good cry," Ginny said, hugging Hallie. 

          "Night, Ginny," Hallie and Seamus said. Ginny waved goodbye and Apparated home. 

          True to her word, Ginny did soak in a hot bath. She shivered as she got out and pulled on her silk robe- the one that Draco had always hated. It was black with huge hot pink, lime green, and electric blue butterflies. It clashed horribly with her hair, but she didn't care. Ginny sat down in front of a fire and just stared into it, not really seeing it. There was a faint pop behind her and she turned to see Hermione. 

          "Ginny? Are you all right? Seamus just owled me," Hermione said gently as she sat down in the chair next to Ginny's.

          "You know, you and me were the only two who I thought came even _close to knowing him. You and Hallie were the only ones that even gave him a chance," Ginny said, her eyes filling up with tears as she faced Hermione. _

          "What happened? All Seamus said was that you two had broken up."

          "I went to visit him. I found him in bed. With Blaise Zambini, the slut," Ginny said moodily. 

          "Oh dear, there must be a logical explanation to it all…Draco would never-" Hermione started, but Ginny cut her off. 

          "He would and he did. He was just with me for the fun in it. He never loved me. I thought he did. He never came out and said it or anything, but it was in the way he acted, the way he touched me, and the way he looked at me. I guess I'm just gullible," Ginny sniffed, the tears getting harder to hold back. 

          "That what it was like when I dated Viktor," Hermione said sadly. "Of course, you never can trust famous Quidditch players, except for Harry maybe."

          "Viktor was just a jerk. Draco wasn't. At least, I _thought he wasn't, but who was I fooling. I defended him against, my brothers, my mum, even my dad. And what for? Heartbreak, that's what. I hate men of all shapes and forms," Ginny sighed, the tears finally escaping her eyes. _

          "It will be better someday, Gin. Hey, I'm sorry, but I can't stay. Harry needs help with something or other and I'm supposed to meet him. Honestly, you wouldn't think we were dating. We seem more like friends," Hermione said and shook her head. 

          "Bye Hermione. Thanks for stopping by." Ginny whispered. 

          "Anytime, Ginny, anytime," she smiled sadly and left. 

          Three weeks after the big break up, Ginny was sitting at a Weasley Family Sunday Dinner- something they'd been doing since Ginny graduated from Hogwarts. Bill could not make it, but Charlie was there. Harry and Hermione weren't there, however. They were eating at her parents' house. Harry had proposed to Hermione the night of the break up. 

          Ginny pushed the food around on her plate, not hungry at the least.

          "Ginny, you need to eat," Charlie said from beside her. 

          "I'm not hungry," she mumbled in reply. She could feel Charlie give her a sad look, then look away. Suddenly, she couldn't take the happiness around her anymore. 

          "Bye, everyone. I've got to go," she said, standing up so quickly that her chair fell over. She Apparated home. Once she was home, Ginny lit a scented candle and laid down on the bed to have herself another good cry. What she didn't know, was that someone was watching her.

          He stood under a silver cloak of invisibility and watched the young woman as her shoulders stopped shaking and she drifted off to sleep. He stood watching her when she fell into a sleep. Once in a while she would twitch in a bad dream, and he had to fight not to wake her and comfort her. 

          Suddenly her arms shot out and knocked over the candle and it set the curtains on fire. Ginny, however, slept on, unaware of the dangerous situation. The man grabbed Ginny and put a handkerchief up to her nose and ran out of the house. He sat out in the yard with Ginny until the fire fighters came. He handed her to one of the fire fighters just as she began to wake up and Apparated away. 

          Four days after the fire, Ginny sat in the Burrow living room. Hermione came rushing into the run and hugged her. 

          "I'm so sorry, Ginny! We just heard!" Hermione said. Harry gave her a hug, but remained silent. 

          "He didn't stay. He didn't even leave a name," Ginny said softly. 

          "Who, dear?" Hermione said as she and Harry sat down on the couch. 

          "A man…he rescued me. He stayed with me until the fire fighters came, but… I don't know who he is, so I have no way to thank him!"

          "Why would someone save your life and then not even stay to see that you were going to be all right?" Harry asked. 

          "Maybe he didn't want her to know who saved her and he knew she was going to be fine," came a lazy voice from the doorway. The three heads turned to see Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway. 

          "Go away, Malfoy," Harry snarled. Ginny quickly turned her head away. Harry continued to glare at the young man, while Hermione turned her gaze to Ginny. 

          "Not until I speak with her," Draco said, and pointed a finger at Hermione, "Alone."

          "Fine," Ginny said, standing up. She rushed out of the room. Harry followed slowly. 

          "Why did you want to talk to me? Seems that Ginny is the one you should be talking to," Hermione said carefully. 

          "She won't listen to me. I want to tell you what _really happened," Draco said, sitting down in the chair that Ginny had once been in. _

          "Why should I believe you?" Hermione asked. 

          "You'll just have to. I've been working undercover for Dumbledore for quite some time. I'm a Death Eater. She doesn't know that I am to my knowledge. Lately I've been having to…sleep…with witches that were supposedly on the dark side. I was to gain their trust and betray them…"

          "Ginny suspected that you were having an affair for some time, but she told herself that you wouldn't do it…" Hermione said quietly. 

          "Read tomorrow's headlines. Blaise Zambini: sent to Azkaban. I was working on her…I didn't expect Ginny that night. She was never supposed to know," Draco said quietly. 

          "Why didn't you _tell her?" Hermione asked. _

          "Yeah, how would she have taken that? 'Yes, Ginny, dear, I'm sorry, but I'm having to have sex with other women behind your back because I'm a Death Eater.' Yeah, _that would have went over well," Draco growled._

          "You should have told her just like you told me," Hermione said, leaning back in her chair. 

          "She wouldn't have listened. That something we have in common: stubbornness."

          "Do you love her?" Hermione asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Draco said nothing for a moment. Finally, he nodded. Hermione could sense how hard it was for him, Draco Malfoy, to admit that he loved his family's worst enemy's youngest. "Then you should talk to her, go after her. You'll regret it if you don't."

          "You're right," Draco whispered. He stood up and was about to leave the room. 

          "Draco?"

          "Hmmm?"

          "Was it you? Did you save Ginny?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded. 

          "Don't tell her, though," he said and was gone. 

          Ginny and Harry were sitting at the large table when Draco walked in. Harry rose, but Ginny stayed sitting with her back to Draco. 

          "Go away, Malfoy," she said, her voice cold. Draco closed his eyes for a moment. 

          "I need to talk to you, Weasley," he said. When he said 'Weasley' in reference to her, his voice was different from when he was talking to or about Ron. 

          "You heard her, Malfoy. She said to go away," Harry said. 

          "Talk to him, Ginny," Hermione said, coming out of the living room. Harry looked at her stunned. "You'll regret it if you don't, Gin. Please? Give him a chance," Hermione whispered as she sat down next to Ginny. She looked into Hermione's eyes and sighed. 

          "Five minutes, Malfoy, and if I'm not pleased with your explanation, you're out of my life. For good," Ginny said coldly. He nodded and led the way to the living room. 

          "What made you say that, Hermione?" Harry asked when they were alone in the room. 

          "His explanation reminded me of when you had to go undercover and I thought you were cheating on _me," Hermione said and leaned into Harry's arms, against his chest. _

          "I would _never cheat on you, Hermione," he said firmly. _

          "Course not," Hermione agreed. 

          Ginny sat down stiffly in one chair. 

          "Well?" she asked when he didn't say anything. 

          "I'm a Death Eater. I've been sleeping with women to get them to trust me to betray them," Draco said, waiting for her reaction. 

          "What?!" she screeched, standing up , "So what am I, one of those women that you were going to betray? Well you can because I _trusted you!"_

          "Now, for the next part. Not only am I a Death Eater, but I'm undercover for Dumbledore which is _why I'm a Death Eater. All those women- they were dark witches. They're all in Azkaban. I'm so sorry, Ginny."_

          "Why couldn't you tell me?" she asked, sitting down again. 

          "You wouldn't have listened. I didn't expect you over that night. You were going to go out with Hallie or something. I thought it would be safe. You weren't meant to see it." Draco asked and took a seat. 

          "Hallie decided she needed time with Seamus…I was going to surprise you…I would too have lis…okay, okay, so I wouldn't have. You were right," she said, grumpily. 

          "Do you forgive me?" he asked. She studied him. 

          "I don't know," she finally said softly. "Have you ever wanted something so bad that it hurts? I want so bad to trust you…but…" she broke off and shook her head. 

          "Please? Give me one more chance?" Draco asked, practically begging. She knew how much it meant for him to be almost begging her. She blew air through her teeth.

          "I guess…but only one more chance." At her words, Draco stood up and grinned. He pulled her into a bear hug and kissed her hard enough to leave a bruise on her lips. 

          "Thanks, Gin. I…I love you," he finally said. 

          "I love you, too, Draco, but I guess you knew that," she said, laughing. She laid her head on his chest, not knowing what tomorrow or the next day would bring, but knowing that she could finally face it. 

THE END

Disclaimer: everyone (except Hallie) belong to JKR. Hallie belongs to me. There's a Buffy quote in there…brownie points to anyone that can guess it. 

Inspirations: "Violet Eyes", Buffy, Angel, and, of course, my day dreams that help me get through those particularly boring subjects like English and Algebra and Science...subjects that I should pay attention in…

Author's note: I'm very sad to say, but this will probably be my last dip into the Harry Potter fandom for quite a while. I'm sorry to say, but I'm taking a break from HP fics for a while. To be quite frank, I've gotten tired of it. There is nothing new to write about anymore. Everything's already been done it seems. Well, until I write again, au revoir!  


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